Seneca Hills to be auctioned

Owner Bobby Pollitt is planning to retire and is selling Seneca Hills Golf Club at auction Saturday. The 121-acre golf course, at 4044 W. TR 98, is to be sold in three tracts, beginning at 6 p.m. "We're going to see what happens," said Pollitt, 69, who has owned the business since 2011. "There's a lot of possibilities for people who have a lot of creativity and capital," he said. "There's a lot of potential." Some of the uses he can see for the property's future are farmland, a private residence, a brewery or winery, an event center, any number of other businesses or even continuation as a golf course. Tract 1 is 6.4 acres and includes the 6,000-square-foot clubhouse and buildings, including the parking lot and cart building. The buildings are zoned commercial. Tract 2 is 72.4 acres on the east side of the creek that runs through the property with road frontage, and tract 3 is 42.8 acres on the west side of the creek, including the woods. "They'll have to buy all three parcels to have it as a golf course," he said. If that's the intended purpose, he said all of the equipment such as golf carts will go with the land. If the new owners are planning another purpose, he said he'll have an equipment auction in October. According to the Ned F. Gregg Realty Inc. website — the auctioneers who will be selling the land — the golf course was established in 1965. There are 6,000 yards of play from the long tees, and it includes three water obstacles. The course is rated at 68.3. The land also includes a practice range, chipping green and open outdoor recreational spaces, and the clubhouse offers dining, a lounge, a private meeting room and a large reception area for events. After a fire a few years ago, Pollitt said he rebuilt the cart building with future sale in mind. It has high ceilings and is versatile. "They could buy (the clubhouse) as a house and put a business in the cart building," he said. "It's even wired for golf simulators." He said someone could have a winter business using simulators and a summer golf course business. Or it could become a winery. "We've got a lot of acreage out there where we already started vines," he said. Or he said someone could keep nine holes of the course and build on part of the land. Pollitt said the economic and political climates make it a good time to sell. "Farmland is way up," he said. "It's time retire while I'm still healthy," he said. "I've enjoyed my 10 years here and it's time to do some stuff for myself." He said he owns two other small businesses that don't take as much time as a golf course that he plans to continue to operate, and he wants to compete in some golf tournaments.